*** *** *** *** ***
A week later, Rose met Jack, who was waiting in front of the temple door.
He was still standing straight in his impeccably neat attire, without a speck of dust, and relayed the Duke’s message to Rose.
He was truly a butler brimming with pride.
“He says he has something to discuss separately before meeting the high priest.”
When Casa and Gray tried to follow, Jack firmly refused.
“This meeting is about the details of the guardianship contract. He said he doesn’t want any interference.”
Despite being an elderly man with white hair, he was so intimidating that even Gray flinched.
Casa narrowed his eyes and gripped his scabbard.
Rose stepped in to stop them.
“It’s alright.”
“Lady Rose.”
Gray’s worried words made Casa’s eyes twitch, but both of them couldn’t win against her and ended up nodding.
Casa reached into his pocket and pulled out a dagger.
“If he tries anything unnecessary, stab him in the heart.”
“What?”
The Duke’s butler Jack, guild master Gray, and Rose all stared at Casa in disbelief.
The red-haired mercenary grinned.
“What’s the big deal? It’s not like you’ll actually get stabbed. At least it proves you’re not a pushover, right?”
“…What if I die?”
“It’s fine. You won’t die.”
Casa’s nonchalant words might have eased the tension, but they didn’t inspire confidence.
He gently smiled as he put a hood over Rose’s black hair.
“I’ll be outside. Whether you shout or flip a table, just give me a signal. I’ll save you somehow.”
“Somehow, huh?”
“Yeah. If all else fails, I’ll sacrifice Gray to save you no matter what.”
Rose finally burst into laughter.
She left behind Gray, who looked like he had swallowed a bitter persimmon, and the shameless bodyguard, and followed the butler.
*** *** *** *** ***
Following Jack’s guidance, Rose entered a sealed room in the temple.
Although it was enclosed on all sides, it wasn’t too dark thanks to the sunlight pouring in from a small window in the ceiling.
The Duke stood beneath it.
He seemed to favor wearing black, as today he was also dressed in all black, turning his body to see her.
For a moment, the image of Khan from her prophetic dream flashed through Rose’s mind.
The Duke standing alone in the small, desolate room of the temple overlapped with the man she had seen in her dream, covered in blood.
Perhaps it was because the place was too dark, or maybe she had been thinking too much about this issue.
She felt her tense back relax, perhaps because she still had some affection for the person who had given her a moment of respite.
The Duke, who had been staring intently at Rose, spoke.
“I called you not because of the detailed clauses, but because I have something to ask.”
“Here?”
When she frowned, he slowly walked over and stood in front of her.
“I thought a quiet place would be more suitable for this kind of conversation. It’s also more comfortable for me.”
He was still a straightforward man.
He looked at Rose’s face intently and asked.
“Are you upset?”
“If I say yes, will you stop?”
“No.”
“Then just ask.”
At Rose’s cynical response, Khan did just that.
“I’m curious why you dislike men.”
Blinking at the unexpected question, Rose remembered that he was Aytan.
Thinking it wouldn’t be bad to draw a line between them in advance, she opened her mouth willingly.
“Normally, I wouldn’t answer. It’s clearly my personal life and unrelated to the contract. But I’ll let it slide this time.”
She sighed and continued, even though she looked reluctant.
“To put it simply, it’s not that I dislike men. I dislike romantic relationships. If I hated men themselves, I wouldn’t have created a merchant guild. A merchant guild deals with people of all ages and genders, making profits through transactions. If I had such a narrow-minded view, it would have been difficult to succeed in this field. However, uncomfortable feelings stemming from personal life are inevitably bothersome, even for someone leading a merchant guild. Does that explain it?”
The Duke, who had been looking down as if mulling over her answer, looked at Rose intently.
“That’s a better answer than I expected. What I need is someone who faces difficulties, not someone who avoids them.”
Every time Khan’s gaze, as deep as a well, touched her, it felt like he was scrutinizing her insides, but occasionally a faint smile brought warmth to his cool face.
Rose frowned.
“Are you… satisfied now?”
“Is that not allowed?”
He was undoubtedly beautiful and charming enough to captivate people, but the unconscious malice and dry nature that seeped through his stiff and concise speech negated all of that.
Rose, who had been trained by meeting countless people, found this man strangely unsettling.
As she fiddled with the knife hidden in her sleeve, a voice that seemed to paralyze human reason whispered in her ear.
“Do you trust me now, on the eve of the pact?”
The sweet and sticky voice sounded almost seductive.
The man’s black eyes were certainly human, but the moment she saw her reflection in his pupils, she felt a chill.
Rose answered Khan, whose eyes, even when warm, seemed to mimic emotions.
“No, not at all.”
“You really aren’t afraid of anything.”
The Duke, who laughed softly, stepped back from where he had been standing close.
“Well. Humans are… too selfish and fickle to be trusted.”
His chilly voice carried a hint of contempt and a bit of self-mockery.
He looked up at the sunlit ceiling and said, “Time’s up,” as he passed by Rose.
The Duke’s thick cloak swayed, carrying the cold scent of winter to her nose.
At that moment, a very faint murmur reached Rose’s ears.
“You don’t need to trust me.”
She turned and grabbed his arm.
Facing the Duke who looked back, Rose clearly conveyed that she didn’t want to be swayed by his ambiguous words.
“I trust people, but not their nature. Everyone buys and sells others for their own benefit. So I’m satisfied if we can be comrades who can entrust our backs to each other, even if only for a moment.”
It was uncertain whether they would indeed become comrades who could trust each other.
Rose thought it would be enough if they didn’t become enemies pointing knives at each other’s hearts.
As she let go of his hand, the Duke nodded with a cool expression.
“…I hope you won’t regret it.”
Rose finally realized the Duke’s intention.
It seemed he wanted to give her a chance to reconsider this deal.
But the Duke never actually said to think it over again.
Just as Rose wanted to draw him into her war, the Duke also wanted to use Rose.
Whether it was as a fake lover or for some other purpose, they were in a relationship of mutual exploitation.
Ironically, the fact that this cold, seemingly inhuman man wanted to give her a chance to escape made her want to trust him more.
What did it matter if Duke Aytan was a bad person?
Rose could retaliate with equally low methods.
‘As long as you help me, I’ll help you too. But if you corner us…’
In this world, only one would survive, be it Aytan or Chaos.
“Let’s go.”
As soon as he finished speaking, he was already far away, crossing the corridor.
Rose didn’t follow immediately but stood still, watching the back of the man walking ahead.
The Duke’s long shadow flickered at her feet.
After looking down at it for a moment, Rose stepped forward with an expression devoid of hesitation, treading on the darkness and moving forward.
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